Electrical convenience outlet



April 22, 1941. .1. F; O'BRIEN ELECTRICAL CONVENIENCE OUTLET Filed May 11, 19:59

INVENTOR ph F O Brien Jose ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, i941 ELECTRICAL CONVENIENCE OUTLET Joseph F. O'Brien, Jersey Clty, N. J., assignor to John B. Pierce Foundation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 11, 1939, Serial No. 273,013

The present invention relates to improvements 2 Glaims.

in electrical convenience outlets, and particularlyto convenience outlets of the type arranged to receive and make electrical contact with the blades of electrical attachment plugs.

Present forms of convenience outlets embody open blade-receiving slots disposed in suitable relationship to the electrical contact elements within the body of the outlet. Such slots at"- ford an at-all-times open access to said contact elements and permit the entry of dirt into the body of the outlet, expose the contact elements to the corrosive effect of dampness, and of themselves provide no means for frictionally securing the blades of the attachment plug in operative engagement with the electrical contacts.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a convenience outlet with access slots which are normally closed, said normally closed slots opening upon insertion of the blades of an attachment plug, and reclosing upon the removal of such attachment plug. Such norrnally closed access means, in contradistinction to the at all times open slots of conventional. forms of convenience outlets, prevents the ingress oi dirt and moisture, and resist the inflow of carelessly used or splashed fluids, such as fluid cleaning materials or thelike. 1 /ly improved convenience outlet, therefore, is particularly adaptable to electrical molding and wiring systems of the general type described and claimed in United States Patent No. 2,175,145, issued lOctober 3, 1939, to Robert L. Davidson, wherein electrical conductors are embedded within an insulating body configurated to simulate molding or like building trim, and thus adaptable for use at the baseboard of a floor, a counter-top, or like position in which exposure to cleaning fluids, dirt, or the like, is a normal incident.

Most preierred'embodiments of my invention comprise a body of suitable material, within which the desired electrical contact elements are insulatedly mounted, and closures of resilient material, or resiliently mounted with respect to the body material, normally closing the access slots of the outlet.

Such resilient or resiliently mounted closures exert a wiping efiect' upon the blades of the at-.

tachment plug during the insertion thereof, thereby conditioning the surface of such blades for satisfactory electrical engagement with the contact elements within the outlet. The resillent closures, upon separation during the ill-'- sertlon of the attachment plug blades, exert a snubbing effect upon said blades, and thus restrain the accidental disengagement of the plug from the convenience outlet, to a degree appreaching, substantial prevention of such accidental disengagement.

An object of my invention, therefore, is an improved electrical convenience outlet.

A further object oi) my invention is an improved electrical convenience outlet embodying normally closed, self-closing means of access to the internal electrical contacts of the convenience outlet.

Yet another object of my invention is topro vide an electrical convenience outlet with normally closed, self-closing access means adapted to restrain the removal of an inserted electrical attachment plug.

@ther features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In "the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a plan view oi a form of convenience outlet embodying my invention;

Figure 2' is a sectional elevation taken on 52-42 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, in section, of the outlet of Figure l;

Figure l is a partial plan section taken on the lines of Figure 3, the left-hand outlet unit showing the resilient sell-closing aperture means, and the right-hand outlet showing backing means for said resilient member, said backing means being supported by a suitable structure formed with the base portion of the outlet.

Referring to Figures i to t inclusive, wherein a form or convenience outlet embodying the present invention is illustrated, the said convenience outlet, herein designated 550, comprises a cap member it!) and a base portion l'lil, each of preferably embodies the annular recesses or sockets 4i, and the eave-like extensions E3, to overlap the surfaces of contiguous units arranged in seriatim electrical and mechanical connection with the convenience outlet, to minimize the danger of short circuit of the conductors therein.

When moldable plastic or like substantially non-resilient material is employed for the cap member I50, the access slots2|0 correspond to the conventional at-ali-times open blade-receiving slots. In the present invention, there is employed, in operative association with said slots, a resilient closure means disposed intermediate the openings 2" of the head and the contact elements 25. Saidresilient closure means may advantageously comprise an insert 250 of soft rubber or like electrical insulation material, said insert having a configuration adapted to tit snugly within a recess formed in the underside of the cap I", as shown in Fig. 4, and provided with a plurality of slits 250a disposed for operative association with the openings 240. Said slits may be formed by piercing the soft rubber simultaneously with blanking it out to final shape. As illustrated in Fig. 2 the slits 250a are normally closed. 'The resilient insert 250 may be slightly larger than the receptive socket within the cap I50, to crowd the side walls of the slitted openings more snugly into mutual engagement.

Tosupport the inserts 250 within the cap member I", I prefer to employ suitable substantially rigid backing members 252, preferably of vulcanized fiber or the like, having openings 2555 so disposed as to afl'ord access to the contacts 2.. The backing members 252 may be permane'ntly amxed to the resilient means 250, or

may be a separate insert supported in any desired manner within the cap Hill; as shown in Figs. 8 and 4, the base member I10 may be formed to ailord an upstanding column 2") of general H-conflguration, the elements of such column 2|! aifording a broad base upon which the'asaociated member 252 may rest. The column Ill cooperates with the side walls of the cap in to enclose the contacts 20 within individual mutually electrically insulated chamhere, as in the case of the wall 2| of the previously described embodiment.

l 'he respective base and cap members of the convenience outlet may sired manner, as by the screw threaded element Ill illustrated in Fig. 3; by making the base and head separable, the resilient inserts may be replaced if worn or damaged. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, it is advantageous to provide a central aperture I" through which aperture a wood screw or like means may be passed for the purpose of screwing the outlet against a baseboard or other structural surface.

Upon the insertion of the blades of an electrical attachment plug ll through the slots 2" into electrical engagement with the contact members 2I, the slotted openings 250a of the resilient means 250 are spread apart and distorted downwardly. The

be secured in any deresilient member 250 preferably having a substantial thicknessof the order of three thirty-seconds of an inch-the downward distortion of said resilient member at the I insulation material having vertical wall means and electrical contact means disposed on said base portion adjacent said wall means, of a cap member of electrical insulation material for association with said base portion, said cap member having depending wall means for cooperation with said base portion wall means to provide chambers having walls of electrical insulation material, for housing said contact means, said cap member having apertures in registry with said contact means. recesses provided on the under-side of said cap member, and a plate of resilient electrical insulation material disposed within each recess of said cap member and having normally closed self-closing openings in registry with the apertures in said cap member, said plate of resilient electrical insulation material being supported by said wall means and held thereby within the said recesses of said cap member.

2. In an electrical convenience outlet, the combination with a base portion formed of electrical insulation material having vertical wall means and electrical contact means disposed on said base portion adjacent said wall means, of a cap member of electrical insulation material for association with said base portion, said cap member having depending wall means for cooperation with said base portion wall means to provide chambers having walls of electrical insulation material, for housing said contact means, said cap member having apertures in registry with said contact means, recesses provided on the under-side of said cap member, a relatively thick plate of resilient electrical insulation material disposed within each recess of said cap member and having normally closed self-closing openings in registry with the apertures in said cap member, and'rigid backing means disposed beneath said plate of resilient electrical insulation material and supported upon said base portion wall means to maintain said plate of resilient electrical insulation material in operative position.

JOSEPH F. O'BRIEN. 

